The blog contains articles by the author which appear in various newspapers in Kashmir and are also available on the website: www.kashmirfirst.com

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Kashmir’s Stakeholders!

(Dialogue
among all the “Stakeholders” is the present refrain but one could ask who the
real “Stakeholders” are and what stakes they have?)

The
“Burhan Uprising” has shaken not only people in the sub-continent but across
the world. It is for the first time in the recent history of the Kashmir’s
Movement for the right of self-determination that the people all round are
making efforts to understand and attempt to solve the basic political problem
which has been plaguing the sub-continent right from the time of its partition
in 1947. There is universal suggestion for a dialogue among the “Stakeholders”
to sort out the problem. Unfortunately, mentioning the word “Stakeholder” gives
a feeling as if it is piece of the real estate which needs to be divided among
various claimants. It sounds more like “Shareholders” or rather the “Booty
Sharers”! That is the misfortune of Kashmiris that there are now many
“Shareholders” claiming a piece of their motherland where they themselves have
been living right from the birth of man! The living example is the dwelling
pits of the new Stone Age in Burzahom.

Before
one comes to the present set up, it would be useful to refresh the historical
perspective. India is a very ancient land. It has been in existence from the
earliest times. It was referred to by Arabs as the Al Hind because it was the
land of the Hindus, a very ancient religion. Then Muslims came to South India
as preachers especially to Kochi in Kerala but to the North they came mostly as
conquerors and some settled here adopting it as their homeland. Muslims ruled
over India for 800 years. However, ultimately, the British made it their colony
to rule over it for 200 years. Muslims and Hindus had been living more or less
peacefully till the British thought of a plan to keep their indirect presence
in the area even after their departure. The result was the partition of India
and creation of Pakistan. These western colonialists even after their
departures have worked out such intelligent plans that all their earlier
colonies remain perpetually in turmoil needing their continuous intervention.
The story is same in Africa, South America, Far East, Middle East and South
Asia.

For
last 70 years the two newly created countries of India and Pakistan have been
in a continuous state of conflict. In fact, India is not now the historical
India mentioned in the ancient chronicles! It is now Bharat, the land of the
Hindus which according to statement of RSS leader would be totally free of
Muslims by 2021! It will again become the ancient land of Hindus which is the
aim of the present ruling dispensation. Pakistan did not exist till 1947 and
was created by the British to keep a hold on the sub-continent. It was then
further divided in two countries by the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. The
recent declassification of some secret documents of the partition days clearly
establishes the existence of a western conspiracy to divide the sub-continent
and create a perennial dispute among them enabling continuous western
interference in their continued existence.

Kashmir
in the entire sub-continent has probably the longest history and a sizeable
part of it from the earliest times recorded in writing. Many ancient chronicles
of Greeks, Arabs and Chinese mention Kashmir as a Kingdom in the Himalayan
Mountains. Till twelfth century it was a Hindu Kingdom. Then Islam as a
religion was brought here by religious preachers and not by conquerors. The
religion appealed to the local population so much that all except the 2% ruling
elite converted to Islam and with the conversion of the last ruler Rincin Shah,
it became a Muslim State. Rincin Shah after conversion took the name of
Sadaruddin and became the first Muslim King of Kashmir. Till sixteenth century
it remained an independent sovereign kingdom and then the Mughal King Akbar
annexed it through treachery to the Mughal Empire. After that there was
continuous slavery of Afghans, Sikhs and Dogras for the Kashmiris. A movement
for the emancipation from the centuries of bondage and slavery rose in Kashmir
in early thirties of the last century. In 1947 when Kashmiris were nearing
their goal of freedom, because of their misfortune and the ineptitude of their
leaders, they got entangled in the ideological conflict of the sub-continent.
Rather they were got enmeshed by the departing British.

During
the last 70 years both the countries have created their vested interests or so
called “Stakeholders” to pursue their agendas of claims on the land. One side
calls it the jugular vein which because of the water may be true while the
other side because of its Hindu past calls it the crown of India.
Unfortunately, the real “Stakeholders”, the Kashmiris are getting crushed like
the grass in the arena where the two bulls have been fighting. The sufferings
of Kashmiris for last 70 years and especially the last of couple of decades
have not been seen by any of the dwellers in any part of the entire sub-continent.
In the real sense of the word, they are the only “Stakeholders” and need to be
given the basic right of living an honourable and dignified life. This right of
theirs has been accepted not only by the two warring countries apparently
fighting for the real estate but by the entire world through the commitments
given time and again through different international and national organisations.
The sooner it is restored, the better for all. Otherwise, because of the new
“Burhan Generation”, there may be no stakes left for any of the
“Stakeholders”!